[20191120]IF11368_扩大对蓝水海军越战退伍军人的福利.pdf

https:/crsreports.congress.gov November 20, 2019Expansion of Benefits to Blue Water Navy Vietnam VeteransLegislative History The Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act of 2019 (P.L. 116-23) is the most recent action taken by Congress to grant disability compensation benefits to veterans exposed to Agent Orange, a combination of tactical herbicides used by the U.S. military in Vietnam. Earlier legislation directed the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide some veterans with VA benefits for specific disabilities without requiring proof of actual exposure to Agent Orange. In 1991, the Agent Orange Act (P.L. 102-4) established a presumption of service connectionthat is, a presumption that a disability is related to a veterans service, entitling that veteran to VA disability compensationfor diseases associated with herbicide exposure contracted by veterans who “served in the Republic of Vietnam” between January 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. VA interpreted “served in the Republic of Vietnam” to apply to veterans who set foot in Vietnam or served on its inland waterways. For veterans to be eligible for VA disability benefits under these provisions, they must have at least one of the i